Soft synths

For all non-guitar instruments; mandolins, synths, kazoos, and anything else musical that doesn't fit elsewhere.

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lorez
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Soft synths

Post by lorez »

What do you use, are your favourites & which do you say avoid?

I'm currently using other than some of the instruments for percussion stuff in ableton includes

Crystal
Zebra
Tal noisemaker
Synth1

I'm interested in hearing if folks have experiences of things like Massive, imposcar or omnisphere
plopswagon wrote:I like teles and strats because they're made out of guitar.
robroe wrote:I dont need a capo. I have the other chords in my tonefingers
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aen
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Post by aen »

I've only really worked with Reason for softsynths. Good stuff in there, though. I have the Arturia minimoog loaded up in Live a lot, but I haven't really done much with it yet.
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lorez
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Post by lorez »

aen wrote:I've only really worked with Reason for softsynths. Good stuff in there, though. I have the Arturia minimoog loaded up in Live a lot, but I haven't really done much with it yet.
I forget I have that also. Used it a few times but mostly use the stuff above before that
plopswagon wrote:I like teles and strats because they're made out of guitar.
robroe wrote:I dont need a capo. I have the other chords in my tonefingers
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Simon
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Post by Simon »

I couldn't get the Arturia moog to work. I downloaded it after they had some deal one where they sent you the serial. I can't get it to work in anything other than demo mode. It is a great synth though.
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Post by aen »

Yeah, I seem to remember the "unlocking" process was pretty shit. That super sweet sale day their website was all crashed to fuck, too.
That plugin was actually one of the main reasons i updated my copy of Live. Friggen nothing worked cause my verison was old balls.
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Post by Simon »

I've currently got the following installed on Logic -

Zebra
Alchemy
Absynth
Some TAL stuff.

I like them but I would love some proper vintage synths.
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lorez
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Post by lorez »

Simon wrote:I've currently got the following installed on Logic -

Zebra
Alchemy
Absynth
Some TAL stuff.

I like them but I would love some proper vintage synths.
what do you think of absynth?

also, everyone should have some TAL stuff, that stuff is amazing for freeware & that roland chorus they just released is sweet
plopswagon wrote:I like teles and strats because they're made out of guitar.
robroe wrote:I dont need a capo. I have the other chords in my tonefingers
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Simon
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Post by Simon »

lorez wrote:
Simon wrote:I've currently got the following installed on Logic -

Zebra
Alchemy
Absynth
Some TAL stuff.

I like them but I would love some proper vintage synths.
what do you think of absynth?

also, everyone should have some TAL stuff, that stuff is amazing for freeware & that roland chorus they just released is sweet
To be honest, I've not had a proper opportunity to sit and play with it. It seems like there's loads of different options available though.

I'm kind of wanting to move away from relying on guitar for the tracks I play in this band. I'd like to be able to play some synth but realise it's not exactly practical working from a laptop and midi keyboard when playing live. It'll have to do for the interim though.

I like the TAL stuff - there's a brilliant synth that does all the distorted Bass stuff. I can't remember what it's called though. I also downloaded something that was meant to be a Roland Juno clone but I've never been able to get that to work. I think there's one in Alchemy or Zebra though so it's all good.
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Post by Rhysyrhys »

I recommend Rob Papen and Linns Albino3 and Blue. So much you can do with them and some great presets.

I am rarely using straight up softs these days, but I'll use Absynth, Massive, Albino and Blue with some of the Arturia stuff if I am. Get Reaktor or get into MaxMSP guys, it doesn't require you to know programming more than wiring up a pedalboard as its all wires and you have literally infinite sonic and visual capability. I'm also happy to run a bit of a seminar with anyone that wants to learn. I love them and I want more people to love them too.
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Post by Simon »

Rhysyrhys wrote:I recommend Rob Papen and Linns Albino3 and Blue. So much you can do with them and some great presets.

I am rarely using straight up softs these days, but I'll use Absynth, Massive, Albino and Blue with some of the Arturia stuff if I am. Get Reaktor or get into MaxMSP guys, it doesn't require you to know programming more than wiring up a pedalboard as its all wires and you have literally infinite sonic and visual capability. I'm also happy to run a bit of a seminar with anyone that wants to learn. I love them and I want more people to love them too.
I'vt got the Komplete package, as it were. Haven't used Reaktor yet though. I rarely find the time to sit and play around with this sort of stuff. It's a shame as I'd like to be able to put it into practice and start recording more than I currently do.
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Post by plaidbeer »

Old thread, but I was looking for opinions on the Korg Mono/Poly Legacy VST...

Here's what I have:

impOSCar--great sounding synth and I've thought about upgrading to the impOSCar 2 as they have an upgrade special for $99. Huge, ballsy sounds from this thing.

M-Tron--it's a VST of the Mellotron with other samples included. Haven't used it in a long time, but it does the job well.

Korg Legacy Polysix--I used to have an actual Polysix and this captures some of that character really well. They've added lots of bells/whistles for an even wider range of sounds.

Korg Legacy M1--you get all the classic sounds plus the optional patch cards giving you a HUGE library to work with. There are lots of these sounds all over stuff from the late 80s/early 90s, but there's still a lot of useful material here once you strip away the onboard effects that drenches some of these sounds.

Korg Wavestation--pad/atmosphere machine. Loads of sounds here, too. Lots of cheesy presets just like the M1, but once you get past those, you can get some stunning textures. Comes with all of the optional program cards as well.

FYI---each Korg VST synth can be purchased for $50 and they just released a 64-bit version update. That's an amazing bargain. The only two Korg VSTs I don't have are the Mono/Poly and the MS-20, but I might bite on the Mono/Poly soon. They also have a small effects plug-in suite (MDE-X) that has all of the effects used in their old recorders and workstations for a measly $20.
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Post by ultratwin »

Kontakt/KOMPLETE. The same that Simon mentioned above, a fantastic platform for my favorite 3rd party developers(8Dio, Cinesamples, Sonic Couture), not to mention probably the best place to start for a little bit of everything that is very functional. There isn't a single piece of music I do that doesn't have Kontakt running something.

Spectrasonic Omnisphere - A mindblowing collection of both historic synth sounds and several thousand spacey toanz, the Bob Moog Tribute Library extension that came out last year is equally as neato. I don't know where to start in describing what it does.

Vienna Symphonic Library - Their special bundles are probably the best 'starter" orchestras out there, and although it lacks decent velocity layers, legato patches are some of the best and most natural sounding for the money. Austrians know what they're doing.

PLAY - The most confusing and hard-to-install library ever, it has some very good libraries (esp. Ra and Silk) but is a frustrating thing to work with. Boo EAST/WEST, your software UI sucks and your customer service is even worse.



And if you still haven't downloaded YMCK's free Magical 8-bit VST synth patch for your sequencer, do eet nao: YMCK LET'S GO LET'S GO
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Post by plaidbeer »

Decided to get the Korg Mono/Poly VST today. Crap tons of sounds and it sounds huge and is capable of lots of weirdness. Really liking it.
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Post by dezb1 »

Had a clear out of my vst stash over the week paired it down to the synths I really use as I was wasting more time adding and removing synths than making music.


The survivors of the cull are:

Vaz 2010 - I've used the Vaz synths since the dawn of time and love them (the only synth I can program without looking at manuals and how to's)

Triangle - love the bell / chime sounds this thing can produce.

Combo f organ - for when I need an old skool organ sound.

Dahornet - again another old favorite

CM play - for piano samples

CM Dominator - for incidental sounds and processing.
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